Man tries to lure schoolgirl into ‘black Jeep’

JOHN CONNELL

POLICE are investigating what they believe may be an attempted abduction after a man stopped in a car to speak to a young child on her way to class.

But police have ruled out a link between this incident and another apparent attempted abduction within the same week.

Officers are looking to talk to a “well-dressed man” who is reported to have approached the youngster in a dark 4x4 as she made her way to Craigour Park Primary School on Friday morning.

It was reported the man told her he was a friend of her father and that they had to go to him.

The girl was said to have ran to her school in Moredun to raise the alarm and the incident was reported to the police.

The girl, thought to be ten or 11, told her teachers the man had attempted to lure her into a black Jeep.

A concerned relative has circulated a warning to parents in which she described the man as “well groomed” and “driving a nice car”.

Police said the episode was being treated as an “isolated incident”, and not related to a separate incident where a man stopped in a vehicle and spoke to a young child on her way home from school in the Cramond area last Tuesday afternoon.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Police are investigating after a man stopped in a vehicle and spoke to a young child as she made her way to school in the Craigour area.

“The incident happened at around 8.40am on Friday, February 5.

“The child was unharmed, however police are carrying out various lines of inquiry as part of their ongoing investigation and are in contact with the city council’s education department.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101.”

A spokesman from the city council said that a school assembly on “stranger danger” had been brought forward in response to Friday’s incident.

A letter from headteacher Carol Cameron has also been issued, offering parents advice on how best to keep their children safe.

Mrs Cameron wrote: “This morning, in school, your child learned about keeping themselves safe both in and out of school. As part of these lessons the children were reminded of ‘stranger danger’ and ‘safer routes to school’.”

She also warned pupils not to talk to strangers or to accept a lift, urging them to go to the nearest public space – such as a library or school – if approached and suggested that pupils travelled to school in groups or with an adult.

However, the letter failed to mention Friday’s incident directly, which has drawn criticism from some parents.

Alana Tague, whose daughter attends the school, said parents should have been asked to collect their children following the incident.

She felt that parents should have been notified of the incident for security reasons.

Schools across the city offer safety advice to children between the ages of four and 11 in the “stranger danger” programme.

Talks are given and DVDs on safety are shown to pupils, with a priority on keeping children safe as they walk to and from school.